At least 1,000 US troops from 82nd Airborne set to deploy to Mideast, AP sources say

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the plans.

The unit is considered the Army's emergency response force and can be deployed on short notice. The force would include a battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team as well as Maj. Gen. Brandon Tegtmeier, the division's commander, and division staff, according to the people, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans or private conversations.

When asked about the deployment, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly deferred to the Pentagon but noted, "President (Donald) Trump always has all military options at his disposal."

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are scheduled to receive a classified briefing from Pentagon officials Wednesday on Capitol Hill where the potential deployment is expected to be discussed, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The New York Times earlier reported the possible deployment of the 82nd Airborne to the Middle East.

Marines on the way to the Persian Gulf

Thousands of Marines headed to the region, raising speculation the U.S. may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran's oil network. The U.S. bombed the Persian Gulf island more than a week ago, hitting its defenses but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

U.S. officials previously said the Japan-based USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit were ordered to the Middle East — shifting them from exercises near Taiwan.

While the Marine units are trained in missions that include supporting U.S. embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief, the soldiers of 82nd Airborne — based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina — are trained to parachute into hostile or contested territory to secure key territory and airfields.

Officials also confirmed the Navy rushed to deploy a set of ships carrying a rapid-response Marine force to the Middle East from their home post of San Diego.

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 The pair of Marine Expeditionary Units will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region, where the U.S. already has about 50,000 troops.

The troops are being added just as the Trump administration says it began negotiations with Iran to end the war. Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran denied that any negotiations are taking place.

Iran threatened to mine the Gulf if the U.S. appears to be on the verge of landing troops.

Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Iran's power stations while talks unfold — a delay that could be aimed at buying time for the Marines to arrive, the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote in an analysis.

However, the center also noted, "Trump could be actively seeking an offramp."

Trump previously said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel suggested its ground forces could participate in the war.

Meanwhile, airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday.

With thousands more troops on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war's tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran's chokehold on that crucial waterway snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.

Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight "until complete victory."

Talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington's shifting objectives, particularly over Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, it's not clear who in Iran's government would have the authority to negotiate — or be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started this war.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on social media that Pakistan is ready to "facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks" to end the Iran war.

The U.S. agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according to three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran.

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One diplomat from the region said the talks could happen by early next week, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details to the media.

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, the Republican president said the U.S. is "in negotiations right now" and the participants included Witkoff, Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

"We have a number of people doing it," Trump said. "And the other side, I can tell you, they'd like to make a deal."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's office said he discussed the war this week with several counterparts. However, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, denied Trump's claim of direct talks, and an Iranian military spokesman issued a newly defiant statement.

"Iran's powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran's integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory," Iranian state television quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying Tuesday.

Aliabadi did not say what victory would look like, but Iran's military could be trying to warn political leaders against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centered on "trust-building" between the U.S. and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in fighting. Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on regional energy infrastructure and that they were working on a "mechanism" for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over $100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40% since the war started.

Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbors while Israel attacks Beirut

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian "production sites," without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighborhoods and another in the city center.

Iran also fired at least a dozen waves of missiles at Israel, and first responders said three people were wounded in southern Israel, and four others suffered minor wounds in Tel Aviv.

A Moroccan civilian contractor with the United Arab Emirates' armed forces was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, the UAE Defense Ministry said. In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defense shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs, saying it targeted infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.

In northern Israel, a woman was killed by shrapnel during an attack from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Iran's ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some top Lebanese government officials have accused Iran of dragging Lebanon into another war with Israel.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Iran's death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have been killed. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

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Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price and Collin Binkley contributed to this report.

Photos from the Mideast in the 4th week of the Iran war